Millstones, An Introduction (2024)

The grinding of grain by primitive hand stones can be traced back evenfurther than recorded civilization, although the methods used in prehistoricmilling are a matter of some conjecture and speculation. It is certain,however, that stones used for grinding grain have progressed through thecenturies, from the small stones held in the hand which were used hammer-likefashion to pulverize grain against larger stones or a rock face, to thehighly efficient power driven millstones that are still used to this day.

Geologists and archaeologists have come across primitive types of poundingstones of a similar shape in various parts of the world. It is interestingto note that the methods used to reduce grain or berries to a more edibleform did not very much by the people in the early civilizations of the OldWorld, the original peoples of the New World, or by the aborigines of modernuncivilized countries. A similar kind of hammer stone appears to have beenin universal use perhaps between 25 and 50 thousand years ago.

The improvements in the simple pounding methods came with the introductionof the mortar and pestle which gave more of a grinding action. The grainwas placed in a bowel-like piece of rock, the mortar, and ground by thepestle, a club-shaped implement. This was held in the hand and worked upand down striking the grain. The same principle was also used with mortarsfashioned from a section of a hardwood tree trunk, the grain being poundedwith hardwood pestles. There were, of course, many variations in the kindof wood used and in the size of the mortars and pestles. The design largelydepended on local timber availability and the needs of the people usingthose grinding implements.

From the primitive hand stones, mortars and pestles, was developed the saddlestone or saddle quern. This device had a saddle shaped stone base, a truegrinding action was produced by working a rubbing stone, shaped almost likea rolling pin, back and forth across the abrasive surface of this stonebase, on which the grain was scattered. Later improvements to the saddlestones were, having the milling surfaces of a flat base stone and enlargedflat rubbing stone grooved so that the grooves crossed each other to improvethe shearing action. This grooving of these early grinding stones, musthave been one of the first steps towards a definite pattern of millstonedressing. To assist in the operation of the larger rubbing upper stones,handles were fitted at either side of the rubbing stone, so that more forcecould be used in a push and pull motion. This type was called a push mill.In later larger versions levers were fitted so that the whole of the forceof the operator's body could be utilized. This improved type of mill wassometimes termed a lever mill.

About two hundred years B. C. rotary motion came into use, this was a greatimprovement and was first developed by the Romans. One of the early rotarydevices was the hourglass mill, or conical quern, in which the upper stonewas suspended over the conical shaped lower stone. The top portion of theupper stone was hopper shaped and used to feed the grain through a perforatediron plate fitted in the center of the two sections. This iron plate, calledthe rynd, had a central socket eye which was pivoted on top of a spindlefixed into the lower stone, so that the upper stone did not rest directlyon the lower one. The upper stone was turned by means of bars projectingfrom its side, the operator or operators, walking round the mill. The grainfrom the revolving hopper gradually fed through the space between it andthe lower, producing coarser meal; while a thin shim, by bringing the stonescloser together, would produce finer meal. This method of adjustment, althougheffectual, was most troublesome, as it involved the lifting off of the topstone every time a change in the texture of the meal was desired. The laterbridge-tree method is much easier and more effective. To turn the upperstone, a wooden handle is inserted in the top surface of the stone, so thatwhen grinding, the upper stone revolves and the lower stone is stationary.The grain is fed in through the eye, radiated from the center of the stonesand is ground into meal by the action of the upper stone passing over thelower one, the meal emerges all round the periphery of the stones.

Animal power was also utilized to power the larger versions of the quern.Even today, primitive methods of grain grinding by camel, donkey or oxenpower are found in India, the Middle East and many other countries.

In all the early mills, the material of the millstones depended on whateverhard stone could be obtained locally. Transport of heavy stones was, ofcourse, difficult, so that any suitable local stone was used. The Romansseem to have been the first people to move stone for milling purposes any great distance. From the well known Andernach quarries in the Rhine Valley,Germany, the Romans shipped quern and mill stones to most parts of the EuropeanContinent. This stone is a blue black lava, commonly called "Cullin"stone. Cullin is a corruption of the name of Cologne, from which city thisstone was shipped down the Rhine. The millstones produced from Andernachstone, were called Blue Stones, Rhine stones, Cologne stones and Hollandstones. Quarries in Germany are still producing millstones at the presenttime.

The best and most popular stone ever discovered for grinding wheat intowhite flour is the French Burr. This stone is a freshwater quartz and wasquarried at La Ferte sous Jouarre near the town of Chalons in the MarneValley in Northern France, the stone from this district became world famous.The remarkable thing about this stone from La Ferte sous Jouarre was thatit was only found in small pieces ranging from about 12 to 18 inches long,from 6 to 10 inches wide, by 5 to 10 inches thick, usually embedded in layersof clay. There were sometimes pieces of a larger size, but none large enoughto make a complete millstone of the usual size 4 feet to 4 feet, 6 inchesdiameter, so that the French millstone of popular size, had to be builtup. One reason why French stones were so successful was their high percentageof porosity. Some pieces were simply a mass of porous cells and as the stoneswore away, new cutting edges appeared which could be worked without beingrefaced or redressed. Other pieces of La Ferte sous Jouarre stone were extremelyhard and of close texture. The more porous pieces of stone were often lightbrown in color and called "nutmeg" burrs. The hard, close texturedpieces were usually of lighter color and called "white" burrs.French stones produced a whiter flour from wheat because the extremely hardnature of the stone was far less abrasive than any other stone used. Anabrasive stone tends to shred the outer part of the grain of wheat, thebran, into a powder. This fine powdered bran dresses through the fine meshsilk or woven wire of the flour dressing machinery or bolters together withthe white part of the wheat meal and the flour thus produced is of a darkercolor.

In the heyday of millstone milling, there were hundreds of firms of Frenchmillstones makers, and these people imported vast quantities of the La Fertesous Jouarre blocks of stone into their respective countries. Even today,it is still possible to have new French millstones manufactured. The processof building the complete millstones from the blocks of rough stones, beginswith selecting suitable pieces so as to form, usually two concentric ringslooking rather like keystones of an arch. The number of sectional piecesused, varies, depending on the size of the blocks; some French millstoneshave as many as nineteen sections, while there are others with as few asfour sections. Where there are two rings of stone sections, a good millstonemaker will select the harder burrs for the outer ring and the softer burrsfor the inner ring. This selection of stone is to allow for the extra wearon the outer ring as, of course, the periphery of the runner stone travelsmuch faster than the center and also covers a larger area of grain or materialcontact. Apart from this obvious consideration, the area round the centerof the stone, the eye, has to be slightly farther apart than the outer edgeof the stones to allow the grain to enter between the stones. This "dishing"of the stones was also known to some millers as "bosoming." Thesections of the stone are trimmed and dressed so as to be a good fit andform a perfectly round, solid millstone. The runner stone has a round holein the center, usually about 10 inches diameter to form the eye, throughwhich the grain is fed. The bed stone is built with a square hole in thecenter about 10 inches across, this is to accommodate the neck bearing ofthe driving or balancing spindle. The pieces of stone are cemented or plasteredtogether and bound with iron bands to prevent bursting when the millstonesare in use. These bands are usually "sweated" or shrunk on, thisis to say, that the iron bands are heated to a red hot condition and thusexpand. In this red hot condition the bands are driven over the edge ofthe stones and as the bands cool they contract to become extremely tight.The top of the runner stone is usually finished off with a layer of plasterof Paris, which is sometimes mixed with small pieces of stone and smoothedoff to form a slightly convex top. This plaster of Paris finish also helpsto increase the weight of the runner stone and is a saving in cost of theexpensive imported stone, if this has to be used to increase the weight.When new, a French runner stone of 4 feet to 4 feet, 6 inches diameter isusually about 12 to 15 inches thick at the circumference, which is knownas the "skirt" of millstones, and 15 to 18 inches thick at theeye or center. The weight of these runner stones is upwards of 2,400 pounds.To balance the runner stone when pivoted on top of the spindle, pieces ofiron or lead are driven or fastened in appropriate points so as to correctthe balance. From about the early nineteenth century, some makers fittedbalance boxes, usually four in number which were let into the top of therunner stone at opposite points near the rim, weights could be placed inthese boxes to correct the balance. In England, a firm of millwrights, Messrs.Clark and Dunham, patented a special cylindrical balance box which carriedlead discs on a screw, these discs could be screwed up or down to balancethe stone on both its vertical and its horizontal axis.

The French bed stone has the underside smoothed off to a perfectly levelfinish with a layer of plaster of Paris, so that the stone will lie flaton its base. To correct any uneven wear, the bed stone would be leveledby using wooden wedges driven under the stone in the appropriate spots.In late nineteenth century mills, bed stones were often set in cast iron"pans," in the base of these pans, usually at four opposite points,were set pins which were adjustable to correct the level of the stone.

In England, in southwest Yorkshire and the northeastern perimeter of Derbyshire,was found an excellent rock for manufacturing millstones. This type of rockis appropriately known as Millstone Grit. Known to British millers as "Peak"or gray stones, they were widely used in the grain milling industry untilabout sixty years ago. However because of their abrasive nature they werenot too suitable for producing white flour from wheat. Quite a number ofPeak stones are still at work in the British Isles at the present time,some for grain milling and others are used for special purposes, such asgrinding material for the chemical and paint industries. After French millstonesbecame so popular for flour milling, the Peak stones were used for grindingcoarse grain for animal feeds, shelling barley and hulling oats. Peak stoneswere exported to several countries, including the U. S. A. Today, therecan be seen hundreds of complete and incomplete Peak millstones scatteredabout near the old quarry workings, which are mostly situated in desolatemoor land districts.

In the United States, the early mills were mostly equipped with stones broughtin from Europe. The Cullin stones were very popular, there are many examplesof these millstones at early mill sites, particularly near the eastern seaboard.French millstones were used throughout the U. S. A. manly for grinding wheatflour and corn meal particularly after about 1750. There were many firmengaged in importing the blocks of the French stones, and making these blocksinto complete millstones, was, for many years, an extensive industry. Theadvertisem*nts by some of these millstone makers, in the American millingtrade journals, claimed that they had their own men in constant attendanceat the quarries in France. By having this personal supervision over thequarrying, the makers stated that, only the very best quality burrs wereselected for use in their millstones. A few of the firms engaged in buildingFrench millstones in the U. S. A. are listed as follows:

In 1774. James Webb, Little Queen Street on the North River, New York City.

1791. G. Speth, New York.

1796. Samuel Wilson, 40 Cortland Street, New York City.

1797. Oliver Evans, 126 South Second Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

In Leffel's Illustrated Milling & Mechanical News, January 1876, therewere advertisem*nts by the following millstone makers:

Edward P. Allis & Co., Reliance Works, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Samuel Carey, No. 7 Broadway, New York City.

William H. Dillingham, 143 Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky.

Nordyke, Marmon & Co., Richmond, Indiana.

Straub Mill Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.

There were many sources of native millstones in the American continent,however, no stone had ever been discovered to equal the French Burr stoneand in most American mills, French stones would be found in addition tonative stones. From Mount Tom, which overlooks Connecticut Valley, camethe quartz shot sandstone millstone for the early settlements in that area.Across Long Island Sound in Long Island, many of the mills there also usedstones from Connecticut.

In New York State, millstones were quarried at several locations. A fewcomplete and incomplete millstones can still be seen at the old quarry workingin an area known as the Traps, near High Falls in Ulster County. The stonesfrom this area were known as Esopus millstones and were cut from depositsof Shawangunk Conglomerate Grit. The Esopus Millstone Company, who weresuccessors to the Bell Millstone Company, had their headquarters at No.8 Wall Street, Kingston, New York. In advertisem*nts in the milling tradejournals, they described their operations as:

Manufacturers of the Well-Known Esopus Millstones. Runners, Beds, Rollers,and Chasers. Blocks for Glaze Pans, Paving and Color Mills and other kindsused by Millers, Mill Manufacturers. Paint and Chemical Mills. Potteriesand China works.

The granite from the well known quarries at Westerly in Rhode Island andfrom quarries in New Hampshire provided many of the stones used in New Englandmills. One of the largest collections of millstones in New England, canbe seen at Millstone Manor, a private house in Shore Road, Ogunquit, Maine.Here, there are reputed to be more than seventy stones as used for graingrinding and other industrial processes. A type of stone similar to theFrench Burr was discovered in Arkansas in about 1870 but does not appearto have been extensively used. There were millstone quarries at Bowmanstown,Carbon County, Lancaster County and Berkshire County, all in Pennsylvania.Near Marietta in Ohio, a suitable kind of stone for milling purposes wasquarried for many years. Quarries were also worked to produce millstonesin Virginia and a quartz bearing granite was used for millstones from quarriesin Rowan County, North Carolina. In fact, there were probably millstonesquarries in most areas where there was a suitable hard stone and where grainmilling was carried on to any extent. The size of these native millstonesvaried from less than two feet and up to seven feet in diameter. When new,these stones would vary from about eight inches to thirty inches in thicknessand the largest stones would weigh more than 3,500 pounds.

In modern times, millstones are made of artificial stone. Emery type gritof a varying texture is mixed with a special kind of cement and poured intomolds, which are, of course, of any desired size. These modern millstoneshave many advantages, notably, that they are always sharp; when dressingis required, only the furrows have to be deepened and the area around theeye faced off a little. The output of these stones is also considerablyhigher for the amount of power consumed. In England and on the Europeancontinent, there are still a few firms which still do a fairly extensivebusiness in the manufacture of these modern millstones.

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